A Victor's Life
by CloveisAwesome
Summary: Explore the friendships made between Katniss, Johanna, and Finnick as they face life in the Victor's prostitution ring. Slight AU where Peeta and Gale are wealthy Capitol socialites. Katniss/Peeta, Johanna/Gale "Some of us never go home, Katniss. If you know what's best for your family, you stay here forever. Going back is what kills them." A work in progress
1. Chapter 1

Johanna's POV

I remember the party at the end of my victory tour. For naiver fresh victors, that would glow like the light at the end of the tunnel, a beacon of hope for their old life back. I, however, was given everything straight, and the blow of my destiny as a victor was not softened or served up nicely for me to slowly adapt to. When I stepped on that train for my tour, I knew what I was walking into and I knew that when I stepped off again at home, my fate would not rest the same.

Looking back now, I owe it to Blight, my mentor, for breaking it to me first, instead of leading me on with hope for an end to the Capitol misery. It was less cruel that way.

So, at my party, I had already given up, and I took drinks without looking to see who gave them to me or what they were. Capitol men rotated in and out of my immediate area, and with my mind in a place far from there, I muttered the occasional response and nodded my head, accepting drinks without acknowledging anyone. The whole night was a blur. My objective was to get as drunk as possible so I could better block out the people who kept approaching me. _Don't you have someone more interesting than a savage from District 7 to bother?_ These people disgusted me and the thought that I would be servicing them for the rest of my immediate future made me sick. _Why do you want to talk to your husband's latest hired whore of the year?_

I felt a hand on my waist, and since this action was of common practice all throughout the night, instead of flinching against it, I held out my hand for the expected flute of champaigne that those who approached me always offered. I never took notice or looked at the faces of my suitors, but this particular one had caused the obnoxious flock of canaries around to shut up for once.

My vision sharpened, and everything came back into focus. It must be President Snow behind me. These finches don't shut up for just anyone.

My skin crawled with the idea that that _man_, monster more like it, was standing behind me. My suspicions and disgust died when the man behind me started to talk.

A flirty charismatic voice said, "Excuse me gentlemen, and _ladies_," coaxing out a batch of giggles from the women around, "I'm sorry to steal Johanna away from you, but I've been waiting ages to meet this beautiful young lady." The voice could only belong to one person that I knew about all too well from listening to the ditsy girls at school gush over.

"Come with me if you want to escape." He whispered into my ear.

At that point, anything sounded better than standing there for another two hours so I took a leap and trusted this legend of a stranger, and took his hand. Obviously he knew where he was going, and I could only imagine how many of these victory parties he had to attend. He slipped through a door and pulled me with him. We turned a corner into a marble hallway full of pillars and dozens of doors. We ran across and he pulled me into of of those doors. Inside was dark, except for a single light bulb hanging and I realized that we were insde some kind of storage closet, or the capitol version of what a storage closet must be in less glamorous places. The closet was fairly deep and from what I could see with the limited lighting, it was used to store rack after rack of old dusty fur coats. Finnick had disappeared behind the forest of fur and emerged triumphant with a bottle of wine.

"I knew this is where the maids keep their alcohol!" he said smiling.

He sat down, back to a wall with his feet reaching the other side. He motioned for join him, and gestured with the wine. "Still up for more?"  
I sunk down next to him, our shoulders touching. "Sure."

Initiating conversation because the social butterfly was such a talkative bastard, he said, "You know, drinking with a friend is so much more fun than doing it alone."

Passing the bottle of wine to me, he asked, "Do you like being alone, Johanna?"

I took a swig and then laughed. "Yes. But I don't think that I can get rid of you."

"You're damn right."

He and I drank and talked and laughed, and it was an unspoken rule that we would not talk about my future in the Capitol. A few hours later, I knew that my escort would be going mad looking for me, and that thought made me happy, so I made no attempt to move my head from Finnick's shoulder as I started drifting towards sleep.

"We're going to be the best of friends, Johanna. You won't be able to get rid of me."

"People like us need best friends. It's the closest thing we have to family."

It was the first time in a long time that I fell asleep smiling with someone rubbing my shoulder, trying for once to ease the pain away.

**Please review if you would like to see more of this story! I'm really inspired and love reviews! Next chapter is about Katniss.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me. **

**Anyway this is a record for me, updating twice in one day!**

**Please Review if you want more chapters!**

Johanna's POV

Discomfort. It is evident on her face. That's why we approach her. To save her, like Finnick saved me five years ago.

Men and women alike are gathered around The Girl on Fire, their new flaming star. But if you get too close to a star, you'll burn up. And it is obvious from Katniss's facial expressions that she is on the last brink of sanity and will snap the next time on of the finches tries to touch her. Finches are what we call the Capitolites. They gather around like the annoying little birds and won't stop pecking and chirping until you go absolutely insane.

Finnick and I smoothly slide into the crowd gathered around Katniss. In sync, Finnick casually places his arm over her shoulder while slip my arm through the man who is trying to pursue her, temporarily distracting him. Katniss flinches at Finnick's touch and tries to pull away. She is on high alert and has not turned to alcohol to make this event easier to deal with. I wonder if she knows what's in store for her, or if Haymitch is too soft to deliver her the bad news. Finnick keeps a grip on Katniss, and starts to turn her away from the obsessed fans.

"Sorry to steal her away!" he says on queue.

I unlink my arm from the man, and slip from the crowd to catch up with them.

"Follow us if you want to get out of here." Finnick whispers into her ear.

"Stop looking so serious. You'll draw attention to yourself. Laugh. Like I said something funny to you just now." I say to her. She's been reluctantly following us, looking like a hostage with a gun to her back.

Katniss attempts a laugh which gives one the impression that it has been a long time since she has genuinely smiled or even giggled. Finnick and I compensate for her by laughing extra hard.

"Your acting sucks, fire girl." I say.

"Now, Johanna, not everyone can convince a nation that they are a weak little princess and then transition into a killing machine." counters Finnick playfully.

"I prefer the term 'serial killer'. I makes me sound like I did shit in a past life."

All the while with this banter, Katniss looks increasingly more uncomfortable and hasn't said a word. I wonder if she would have been more comfortable back where we rescued her. She probably has not gotten over the shock that she has killed people-children even, and yet here we are making jokes about it.

At first I was like her too, drowning in bad memories that I wish could be erased. Katniss seems lost and I want to help her.

"It gets better, you know." I whisper to her as we walk across the ballroom. "This. These events. Living through what you did. I used to hate these things but now I look forward to them. You wouldn't believe the kind of pranks that we've pulled."

This coaxes a slight smile out of her. Finnick guides her into our fur closet, now a location of tradition where we go off to during these dreadful parties. But this year, we saw Katniss and decided that she was like us, and we planned to take her under our wing and help her with the initiation into our 'lifestyle'.

Finnick brings out a bottle of wine and offers some to Katniss, who sits with her arms around her knees. I've forgotten temporarily about her pure youth, the fact that she's only 16. Even I was 17 when I was reaped and thrown into the business, and Finnick had two grace years to adjust to his fate.

Katniss refuses the wine at first, but after a while she gives in, and takes a tentative sip.

"Never drank before?" Finnick asks.

She shakes her head no. "Never had the reason or the money."

"Honey, there's always a reason." says Finnick.

Losing a grip on my self control, I blurt out, "So did Haymitch tell you already?"

"Johanna!" said Finnick exasperatedly.

"Sorry. But I have to know. Did Haymitch tell you about the 'dates' and your family's safety?" I push.

Katniss's eyes go stone cold. "Haymitch didn't tell me." she says blankly. "President Snow did. Personally."

I'm in awe. President Snow went out of his way to talk to one of his little whores? What is so valuable in Katniss that he seeks?

"Who's your first 'date'?" asks Finnick.

"Some guy named Peeta Mellark."

"...Peeta Mellark...Hmmm." Both Finnick and I recall our memories to see if he ever hired one of us.

"Nope. Haven't slept with him. Yet!" Finnick jokes.

"I can't remember anything on account of I have to get myself drunk just to get into bed with those bastards." I answer, giving up on my mental quest. I don't want to journey into my blocked out memories. It's better if you try and forget everything. Finnick on the other hand, loves getting his hands on secrets, and remembers them all. I guess that after ten years in this business you get used to it. It's been five for me so far, and I still don't want to venture into what I've done in the past or even as recently as last night.

The door to our fur fortress opens, and Effie Trinket stands at the doorway, her silhouette prominent.

"Katniss," Effie says, as if she is addressing a little girl who doesn't want to leave the playground, "It's time to go."

"We'll take her back." I say to Effie.

She looks skeptically from Finnick to me to the empty wine bottle, but then reluctantly gives in. "Fine, but I expect you- all of you- to be decent in the morning."  
"Yes mom." Finnick and I answer sarcastically.

You can hear the laughter from all three of us out in the hall. It was the first time in a long time that Katniss had genuinely laughed.

** Everlark is coming up soon! Review! Suggest ideas that you want to see!**

**Review! It makes my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for reading! I really love reviews the most, and I love seeing them! Next chapter is in Katniss's POV. Also, someone asked if there is going to be Finnick/Annie in this story, and if you want there to be, then I can make it happen. Right now, I'm focusing on Johanna because she's my favorite character, but I would also like to go into Finnick's life in another chapter.**

Johanna's POV

As promised, we get Katniss out of the fur closet, and head back to Level 7 of the Training Center. Finnick drunkenly makes his way toward my room, with is eyes closed, feeling sound for the door, ultimately crashing into walls and furniture. He drops onto the bed, and the shove him over to the extremes of the side of the bed.

"You can crash here if you want." I say to Katniss. "There's plenty of room. Unless you want to go back to your floor. It's just an elevator ride up."

"No, I'll stay." says Katniss, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looks over at Finnick passed out, his arms flailing over the side of the bed. "Do you guys stay here often?"

"Yeah. His mentor partner, Aqua, practically kicks him out. I don't know why I stand him. Blight doesn't care anyway."

All three of us sleep on the bed, and at some point in the night, Finnick rolls off and Katniss steals all the blankets. I wake up cold, with only a sheet covering me. At first I panic, thinking that I feel asleep at one of my 'dates' and forgot to leave in the middle of the night. To my relief, I see Finnick on the floor. I throw a pillow at him.

"Mmhmhmn." protests Finnick.

"Rise and shine beauty queen!" I give Katniss a kick and pull the blankets away for her. She starts to panic and is confused as to where she is, until she registers the events of last night.

Realizing the time, I spring up. I have an appointment in an hour, and by the way Finnick is suddenly alert, he does as well.

It's a race to my shower. "Go to your own, Odair, I have somewhere to be!"

"So do I!"

"Not today!" says a familiar but annoying Capitol voice from the hallway. "Your appointments are canceled for today, Johanna. You're going to spend the day helping Katniss get ready." says Effie.

"Lucky you." says Finnick, closing my bathroom door.

"I still want my shower, Odair!" I say, giving up on the effort. Why must Effie burden me with polishing up Katniss before I throw her to the wolves? In my eyes, it's almost as bad as primping up tributes before sending them to their deaths. And to be the one sending her off to her miserable fate, the thought is unbearable.

Katniss and I go to the dining room and eat our breakfast in silence. Finnick parades into the room, still glistening with water, and wearing only a towel around his waist. He steals food off of Katniss's plate, and shakes his hair out in my face, spraying water on me.

"Thanks Finnick. I can always count on you to get a girl wet." I sneer.

"It's in my job description." he returns to our banter. He gives us his famous smile and walks out to the elevators.

"So, Girl on Fire, are you ready for this evening?" I ask.

"Yeah…" she starts, her mind leaving the room, "I've had a lot of time to think out… 'this'. How do you bear it? How often do you have to do this to yourself?" she asks.

"As often as Snow wants, which for me is about three or four times a week. You bear it for your family. Your mom, or sister, or boyfriend, or daughter," I pause at this one, because obviously this girl doesn't have any kids. "You bear it to keep them alive. You think about that house in Victor's Village that they're living in, and all the food they can eat now, but this is the price you pay for that. So you do it. Because you love them."

She swallows hard and processes my words.

"Let's go get you ready." I say. I guide her to the elevator and we ride to the twelfth floor.

We find Haymitch passed out on the table, a bottle of liquor near by. In her room, I inspect Katniss' wardrobe. A new collection of lingerie is displayed, and I help Katniss pick a silky black set with little pink bows on it. That's when I pop the question.

"Katniss," I ask tentatively, "is this going to be your first time?"

She hesitates and sighs and closes her eyes for a second.

"No." she says. "Before I was reaped, I had a boyfriend. He was a peacekeeper named Darius. He moved to District 2."

Relief goes through me. This situation got a little less horrible. If she were a virgin and her first time was with a gross Capitol man, I don't know how I would live with myself, sending her off like that.

"Here, wear this." I pull out a sunset orange gown that looks like it was fit for a greek goddess.

I zip her up and proceed to smooth out her long and regal braid. I help her put on her make up, something I too was inept at until this regular routine of 'dates' forced me to learn the skill, from Finnick actually. He is practically a makeup guru. Think those good looks are 100% natural? Apparently he has his own line of makeup for sale in the Capitol.

"I think you're ready," I say to Katniss.

"Johanna, thank you for everything. Really. I've never had anyone take care of me the way you and Finnick have."

"We do what we can for each other. Now fly away little mockingjay, and don't let your fire burn out." I say as I leave. I'm scared to see the Katniss that will come back from the date, broken in innocence and spirit. I try and remember her the way she is now, before she is forced to grow up.

**Katniss's POV next chapter! She meets Peeta! Please review! That's all I really want! A review really makes my day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so, this was tricky to write. I'm not good at writing romance to begin with, but is really serious about enforcing the rating rules, so I am currently conflicted as to whether I should maintain the story's T rating or change it to M. This certainly is not explicit or detailed, but 'themes' are everything and pretty much dictate the blurred lines between ratings. I think that this Chapter is still borderline T, but please tell me what you think. **

Katniss's POV

Johanna has been really nice to me, like the big sister I never had. It feels forgien to have someone take care of me and give me advice, since I've been the only one in my family doing that. Even so, I'm teriffied of what the night holds. My only other sexual encounter was quick, uncomfortable, and without fluff. How am I supposed to last the entire night?

Peeta Mellark. The name leaves me wondering. Will he be a fat old man, or a violent pervert? Will he mind my utter ineptness at the whole 'dating' business? These concerns circle through my mind as I sit in the car with Effie, driving towards a restaurant where I'm to meet my date.

We arrive at a fancy looking place, even for the Capitol where everything is extravagant.

"Chin up, smile on!" Effie bellows from the car window as I start walking towards the restaurant. My sunset orange dress moves with the wind as I walk.

Inside, I am blown away by my surroundings. Chandeliers made of crystals appear to be floating mid air and a glass dome ceiling illuminates a display of an artificial night sky replete with stars. I am completely lost without Effie to guide me around the Capitol, but I take Johanna's advice and find the hostess and tell them my date's name.

"I have a reservation with Peeta Mellark." I say, the name sounding unfamiliar from my mouth.

The hostess leads me towards a table with a window view. Seated in one of the chairs is a young man with golden hair and blue eyes, staring out the window. He turns his attention to us and a smile appears on his face as he sees me. He's better looking than anyone I could have hoped for, and he's not old or gross, for which I am immediately thankful. I've lucked out, so maybe this date won't be that bad after all.

"Miss Everdeen," he says, taking my hand and kissing it lightly. He pulls out my chair and dismisses the hostess. "I've waited a long time to finally meet you. You're quite the legend." he says, eyes full of interest, watching me intently, like he can't even believe I'm real.

"Well I'm afraid that I know absolutely nothing about you." I say, without thinking first.

He returns my comment with his sweet smile again. It looks like his real smile, not surgically altered. In fact, looking more closely I notice that the only cosmetic improvements evident are lighter highlights in his hair and a whitened tint to his teeth. He wears a blue suits that fits him very well and brings out his eyes.

"What would you like to know?" he inquires.

"Anything. Who are you? What's your favorite color?" I ask.

"Who am I? That's hard to answer. I'm no one really. It's mostly my father who's important. He owns Mellark Bakery, the biggest luxury bread supplier in the Capitol, some art galleries, and has some camouflage contract with the military. All I am is his son in his shadow."

"You never answered my second question." I push.

"My favorite color?" he says leaning back, "Sunset orange. Like your dress, or the color of the sky right now, he says pointing out the window."

"So, like, red?"

"No, not red. Sunset orange."

"I'm pretty sure it's red." I lean back too and smirk. This is going by easier than I thought. A waiter comes by with menus. Looking through just the first page, I start salivating, but Johanna told me to order something light, like a salad. _"He didn't bring you here to eat."_ I remember her saying to me. I take her advice and order a salad and Peeta orders some french sounding things and I have no inclination as to what they could be.

The food comes quickly, this being the Capitol. My salad doesn't turn out to be a total dissappointment because everything here in the Capitol tastes good. Peeta's food comes and I'm surprised to see a whole platter filled with sample sizes of a dozen different small savory pastries. He distracts me from my salad, naming all the different quiches, delicate croissants, and plenty more I've never seen before. He makes me try them all, smiling as he watches me enjoy them.

"Most girls I know won't go near anything with carbohydrates. It's nice to see someone appreciate good food."

"Good food-any food- is a hard to come by where I come from." I say, subconsciously speaking my mind. Alarms start to go off in my head. Johanna said not to mention home. But then again, I figure that Peeta isn't the usual 'date'.

Instead of flaring up, Peeta takes my hand in his and strokes it with his thumb. Never letting go of my hand, Peeta rises and I get up to meet him, and before I know it, we are leaving the restaurant, not even stopping to pay. I guess rules don't apply to important Capitol people and they're used to getting what they want. That's why I'm nervous that I might not be living up to Peeta Mellark's expectation of me.

We walk outside into a garden filled with lighted trees that look illuminated from within. I feel as if the illuminated trees are drawing me closer to the light it beholds inside, like a magnetic pull. My urge to go to the light, to feel it under my skin gets the best of me, and I wander with Peeta in tow to a particularly magnificent tree and press my hand to the translucent bark which gives off light.

My hand feels the faint heat of the light, but it is nothing compared to the warmth of Peeta's hand as it caresses over mine, on top of the smooth bark. I can see his eyes in the faint glow and I shiver in the cooling night around us. Without missing a beat, he pulls me into a warm embrace. I stiffen against the unfamiliar contact, but soon I untense and devour the warmth that my dress refuses to provide.

I look up at Peeta, fairly sure of where this is going to go next. He takes this as his opportunity to lean down slightly and kiss me. His warm hands are woven into my hair, accompanying his inviting kiss. Though it goes against everything I told myself I wouldn't do and what Johanna warned me of, when I kiss him back I can't help but let myself enjoy the kiss. It is certainly overwhelming emotionally, and all my feelings I've kept locked inside of me start pouring out in my head, all swirling together in confusion. My pure anger of the situation makes me want to cry for the injustice, but the promise of comfort and closeness pulls me to want to cry in relief. Either way, my body wants to cry, so I that's what I do after Peeta pulls away from the kiss and leads my by hand through the garden towards a large house that I assume is his home.

Peeta holds my hand like a parent pulling a child along, and tears stream down my face silently as I try and recover from my emotional overload without him noticing.

I dry my tears by the time we reach the house, which is like a small palace, complete with pillars and regal steps. Inside, there is a great room filled with paintings in gold frames and the ceiling extends for several stories. I follow Peeta up a grand staircase, like one out of a fairytale. Eventually through a maze of hallways, we come to his room.

There are about four rooms inside, like a hotel suite. A balcony overlooks the garden, only two stories up. I decide to get this night over with, so walk to the room with the bed and sit down, taking off my ridiculous high heeled shoes. Peeta seems more unsure of the situation than I, and he just lingers in the doorway watching me uncertainly.

I take the initiative to get things moving because I will not be one to submissively wait to be told what to do. I am still Katniss Everdeen and I am not a coward. Tonight I am brave. So I unzip my dress, letting it fall gracefully to the floor. I am still wearing a flowing black silk tank top and matching bottoms.

Peeta still stands in the doorway, watching me, trying to calculate my next move. I take a deep breath. I survived the Hunger Games. I can do this.

I walk up to him, shorter now that I've taken off my heels. I close the space between our bodies and pull his neck down to kiss me. After I pull away from the kiss, he looks at me, silently waiting for what I'll do next, giving me control over the situation.

My eyes not breaking contact with his, I guide his hand to my back, to untie my silky top.

"Are you sure, Katniss?" Peeta asks.

I close my eyes and say yes.

The warmth and tumble with sheets, the feeling of intimacy and being close to someone else, warms a part of me that I had shut down when my father died and everything went dark. It enfuses me with light, like the illuminated trees we saw.

I lay awake after, with my head on Peeta's chest listening to his heart beat. He's asleep, and I know that I should leave soon, but I feel emotionally connected to Peeta now. That's a big mistake, and even I know it. I shouldn't have gotten attached to one of my clients. I will probably never see him again. I brush off my empty heart and fill that void with determination to save my family.

I get up, put on my clothes in the darkness, and silently braid my hair. Stepping onto the balcony, I climb swiftly down a terrace of ivy and land safely on my feet.

One down, how many hundred to go? That is a question I fear the answer to, so I concentrate on walking back to the training center in the early hours of the morning.

**So, T or M? Or is the whole prostitution thing an automatic M? I think this could stay T. Please give your input. Any suggestions, criticism, reviews? I live for reviews, because I like knowing that there are people behind those follows. **


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